Building Economic Resilience to the Health Impacts of Climate Change 2025

The health and healthcare sector accounts for roughly 10% of global GDP and is responsible for keeping populations healthy and productive.61 The health and healthcare sector is broadly divided into two main industries: the development and sale of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and patient care and treatment. Healthcare is a major global employer, comprising 65 million doctors, nurses, midwives and other patient practitioners.62 The pharmaceutical and medical device industries globally employ 8 million and 2 million people, respectively.63,64 Health resources, however, are very unevenly distributed, with high-income countries accounting for almost 80% of global health spending in 2021.65 Furthermore, the WHO projects a global shortfall of 18 million healthcare workers by 2030, with the widest gaps expected in regions with fast-growing health needs.66 Without action, climate change will leave a depleted healthcare sector with the burden of poorer population health. Demand for many critical products from the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry will undoubtedly rise – particularly for preventive care measures like vaccines as well as screening and early detection of climate-sensitive chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease. The sector will need to use all available tools and solutions to build resilience in the years ahead, adapting medicinal products and transforming care delivery to safeguard public health.5.1 The health and healthcare sector –Healthcare represents approximately 10% of global gross domestic product (GDP),58 but faces a growing challenge from climate change. Climate-health needs are increasing, and the sector will need to transform to deliver better preventative care. Without significant adaptation, the climate-related disease burden could result in additional cumulative treatment costs of $1.1 trillion by 2050.59 –Healthcare professionals face elevated risks of infection, injury and mental health strain. This report estimates that at least 8 million DALYs will occur from 2025 to 2050, resulting in at least $200 billion in lost output due to a set of climate-health illnesses. –Current products and treatments will also come under pressure as heatwaves accelerate product spoilage and epidemics disrupt production. There are, however, also opportunities to protect health and create value; projections suggest the dengue vaccine market, for example, will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.2% from 2021 to 2030, reaching $1.3 billion.60 –To build resilience, the health and healthcare sector needs to scale climate-adaptive care, retrofit facilities, develop climate-smart drugs and protect workers. Health and healthcare key takeaways BOX 7 5.2 Health impacts In addition to the chronic, long-term health impacts caused by climate change, acute impacts driven by extreme weather also hinder the sector’s ability to deliver care. Chapter 2 outlined the many ways climate change causes chronic ill health – the burden of which falls on the healthcare sector. Acute climate events add further strain, disrupting both preventative and reactive care delivery through infrastructure damage, resource shortages and emergency resource diversion. For example, hospital admissions rise by about 5% for each 1°C temperature increase above 29°C in Hong Kong.67 Typically, those most in need are less able to access care quickly, which leads to worse health outcomes and often costlier overall treatment. Frontline healthcare workers face direct exposure to climate-driven health risks, including psychological strain, infection, injury and mortality. This report estimates that healthcare workers will experience at least 50,000 deaths and 8 million DALYs from 2025 to 2050 globally due to select climate-health risks.5% rise in hospital admissions for each 1°C temperature increase above 29°C in Hong Kong. Building Economic Resilience to the Health Impacts of Climate Change 29